{"id":12764,"date":"2007-10-20T11:51:01","date_gmt":"2007-10-20T16:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=12764"},"modified":"2019-10-11T13:16:45","modified_gmt":"2019-10-11T18:16:45","slug":"is-the-covering-in-i-corinthians-11-an-article-of-clothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-covering-in-i-corinthians-11-an-article-of-clothing\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the covering in I Corinthians 11 an article of clothing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>Someone related to me that the covering here is not an article of clothing according to the original language. He explained that the veil that Moses used to cover his face was clearly seen as such in the original language, but we don&#8217;t see it for the covering in I Corinthians. I have not studied this, yet. Do you have any insight into this?<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>The articles given on this site do address this issue but attempt to make it easier to understand by appealing to the wording in the passage while avoiding any complexities in the Greek. See the comments given for verse 5 in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/command-or-custom\/\">Command or Custom?<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-message-of-i-corinthians-11\/\">The Message of I Corinthians 11<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>But since you asked about the Greek:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;<em>Every man praying or prophesying,\u00a0<strong>having his head covered<\/strong>, dishonors his head<\/em>&#8221; (I Corinthians 11:4). In Greek, this is: <em>kata<\/em>\u00a0(on)\u00a0<em>kephales<\/em>\u00a0(head)\u00a0<em>echon\u00a0<\/em>(having); that is, having something on his head.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<em>But every woman who prays or prophesies\u00a0<strong>with her head uncovered<\/strong>\u00a0dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved<\/em>&#8221; (I Corinthians 11:5). In Greek, this is <em>akatakalupto <\/em>(uncovered) <em>te <\/em>(with the)<em>\u00a0kephale<\/em>\u00a0(head).<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<em>For if a woman is\u00a0<strong>not covered<\/strong>, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved,\u00a0<strong>let her be covered<\/strong><\/em>&#8221; (I Corinthians 11:6). In Greek, the first phrase is <em>ou <\/em>(not) <em>katakaluptetai <\/em>(covered). The second phrase is a single Greek word:\u00a0<em>katakaluptestho<\/em>\u00a0(let her be covered).<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<em>For a man indeed ought not\u00a0<strong>to cover his head<\/strong>, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man<\/em>&#8221; (I Corinthians 11:7). In the Greek, this is <em>katakaluptesthai<\/em>\u00a0(to have covered)\u00a0<em>ten\u00a0<\/em>(the)\u00a0<em>kephalen<\/em>\u00a0(head).<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<em>For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority\u00a0<strong>on her head<\/strong>, because of the angels<\/em>&#8221; (I Corinthians 11:10). In the Greek, this is <em>epi\u00a0<\/em>(on)\u00a0<em>tes<\/em>\u00a0(the)\u00a0<em>kephales<\/em>\u00a0(head).<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<em>Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God\u00a0<strong>with her head uncovered?<\/strong><\/em>&#8221; (I Corinthians 11:13). In the Greek, this is <em>akatakalupton<\/em>\u00a0(uncovered)\u00a0<em>to<\/em>\u00a0(with).<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<em>But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her\u00a0<strong>for a covering<\/strong><\/em>&#8221; (I Corinthians 11:15). In the Greek, this is <em>peribolaiou<\/em>\u00a0(of a covering).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are just the verses that mention a covering in some way. Notice that there are three ways it is mentioned:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Having something on the head (I Corinthians 11:4, 10).<\/li>\n<li>Having the head covered, not covered, or uncovered (I Corinthians 11:5, 6, 7, 13)<\/li>\n<li>Having a covering (I Corinthians 11:15)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In Greek, one negates a word by putting an &#8220;<em>a<\/em>&#8221; at the beginning, much like putting a &#8220;un&#8221; in front of words in English. So <em>akatakaluptos<\/em>\u00a0is the negative of\u00a0<em>katakalupto<\/em>. Greek also has a variety of endings for words to change the number of people referred to, the gender of those people, the confidence of the fact, the time frame it occurred, and other things like this.<\/p>\n<p>So our main concern is the definition of\u00a0<em>katakalupto<\/em>. The word means to cover or hide. It is actually a compound word:\u00a0<em>kata<\/em>\u00a0(an intensifier) and\u00a0<em>kalupto<\/em>\u00a0(hide or conceal). It was used in the Septuagint in Numbers 22:5, &#8220;<em>See, they\u00a0<strong>cover<\/strong>\u00a0the face of the earth.<\/em>&#8221; Or, &#8220;<em>You shall put the mercy seat\u00a0<strong>upon<\/strong>\u00a0the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy<\/em>&#8221; (Exodus 26:34). Or, &#8220;<em>Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he\u00a0<strong>covered<\/strong>\u00a0his face, with two he\u00a0<strong>covered<\/strong>\u00a0his feet, and with two he flew<\/em>&#8221; (Isaiah 6:2). In the New Testament, the word is used exclusively in I Corinthians 11, and as pointed out it is something that is put on, or in the negative cases, taken off. It is not the hair itself because if a woman refuses to cover her head, Paul says she should\u00a0<strong>also\u00a0<\/strong>shave her head.<\/p>\n<p>In I Corinthians 11:15, a different Greek word is used,\u00a0<em>peribolaiou<\/em>. It refers to a cloak or garment that is thrown around to put on. It is also used in Hebrews 1:12, &#8220;<em>Like a\u00a0<strong>cloak<\/strong>\u00a0You will fold them up, and they will be changed.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p>You referenced: &#8220;<em>Unlike Moses, who put a\u00a0<strong>veil<\/strong>\u00a0over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away<\/em>&#8221; (II Corinthians 3:13). That word is\u00a0<em>kaluma<\/em>\u00a0which also means to cover, hide, or conceal. It is a different word and really doesn&#8217;t help explain I Corinthians 11. Notice also that Moses covered his face, but I Corinthians speaks of covering the head.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: Someone related to me that the covering here is not an article of clothing according to the original language. He explained that the veil that Moses used to cover his face was clearly seen as such in the original language, but we don&#8217;t see it for the covering in I Corinthians. I have not&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[117],"class_list":["post-12764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-head-covering"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":83013,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/two-coverings-under-consideration\/","url_meta":{"origin":12764,"position":0},"title":"Two Coverings Under Consideration","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Elvis Smith Some contend that I Corinthians 11:2-16 only requires long hair as a covering on a woman. But I suggest that if that were so, the three phrases like \"praying or prophesying\" found in I Corinthians 11:4, 5, and 13 would have no real significance. The three \"praying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8617,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-use-of-unique-words-in-i-corinthians-11-change-the-meaning-of-this-passage\/","url_meta":{"origin":12764,"position":1},"title":"Does the use of unique words in I Corinthians 11 change the meaning of this passage?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been doing a lot of studying on head covering. At first glance, I felt that a secondary head covering was needed, but I wasn't sure when. Only at worship? During every prayer? So I got the lexicon out and started combing through the Greek and Hebrew. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4662,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-paul-have-argued-against-a-jewish-tradition-in-i-corinthians-111-16\/","url_meta":{"origin":12764,"position":2},"title":"Could Paul have argued against a Jewish tradition in I Corinthians 11:1-16?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 8, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: While looking around for a Jewish tradition from the first century I'd read some years before that was almost word for word what Paul addressed in the Corinthian letter, I ran across your page. \u00a0I'm not sure the point you were making in \"Images of Head Coverings During Worship\".\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15848,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-it-be-for-a-veil-or-instead-of-a-veil-in-i-corinthians-1115\/","url_meta":{"origin":12764,"position":3},"title":"Should it be &#8220;for a veil&#8221; or &#8220;instead of a veil&#8221; in I Corinthians 11:15?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you for all of your bible study lessons and for all of the hard work you do! Someone told me about the Greek Word: G473\u00a0Anti from I Corinthians 11:15 and said that the hair was given to a woman instead of the veil.\u00a0Can you please explain to me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19722,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/no-such-custom-an-exposition-of-i-corinthians-112-16\/","url_meta":{"origin":12764,"position":4},"title":"&#8220;No Such Custom&#8221;: An Exposition of I Corinthians 11:2-16","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Bruce Terry Second Edition Christian Messenger Publishers Montezuma Creek, Utah 84534-0220 Published 1983 Foreword Bruce Terry's exegesis of I Corinthians 11:2-16 is the most thorough and the most objective study of the covering that has come to my attention. Every Christian, man and woman, should read it carefully. I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32015,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-confused-about-whether-to-wear-a-head-covering-or-not\/","url_meta":{"origin":12764,"position":5},"title":"I&#8217;m confused about whether to wear a head covering or not","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I did have a pressing concern, and I'm sorry if you've repeated yourself on this topic but it's about head coverings. I've read multiple answers of yours to questions about this and I've looked at countless other resources as well and no matter what, I can't seem to decide\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}